The Blacks of Dungog, Port Stephens and Gresford. There is one chorus that I well remember, for it was sung nightly, over and over again, by the whole tribe. What makes me remember the corroboree was the fight that followed. Mr. McKenzie, a son-in-law of Mr. John Rawden was the first manager and no doubt he had many difficulties to contend with, one of his chief troubles being caused by his employees, almost all of whom were assigned servants (convicts), many being hardened criminals. from 1820 to 1921 by A.N. Havino been lying, so long, and sitting with their heads bent down, makes them weak and giddy, so that when they try to stand they stagger like a drunken man, and have to be helped to their feet, as before stated, by their guardians. But very seldom did they eat them raw. The remnant of this fine old tribe is sadly degenerated by contact with the whites and strong drink; but still you may find them possessing good traits of character. The Dutton Family tree remains a mystery with the conclusion of 1923's first season. The fight then began. He also created the first initiation site. The men had as theirs the tiny bat that flies about at dusk, and this little winged sprite was re-garded with deep veneration. "The details are horrific Cato [an Indigenous man] was impaled on the front fence of the homestead, the other warriors were hung from the neck," he said. The blacks would not, or could not say anything definite of him that one could advance as an explanation of his where- abouts or his potency, but clearly he had some influence, The belief in a spirit existence is exemplified in connection with the burial customs of the Port Stephens tribe. The women then step out of the ring, and stand a few yards from it, where they remain till the conclusion of the performance. By scratches on the bark and other signs not comprehensible to a white person, they would select the forest giant in which the little animal had made his home. Capture of women from other tribes and elopements were common. Mr J. E. Irwin told me the trees are still marked round the Tillegra bora. The A. A. As soon as the mothers are covered over, they are directed to continue making a low humming or buzzing sound, in order that they may not hear the guardians taking away the novices. It was their only bridge, and all their children went to school over it. This beating of boomerangs and stamping is repeated till the men get quite close to the back of the goonambang. This communication when handed to Mr F t, he, as the blackfellow describes, read it, tore it to pieces, and when throwing the fragments into the fireplace, said in a contemptuous manner, There, go and bring another, threatening at same time to shoot him if he did not instantly leave the place. The poisoning of Aboriginal people was known as the Harmony because in this way peace was supposed to be achieved. Instinct and. The belief was that the fish would eat this part of the girls finger and would ever, thereafter, be attracted to the rest of the hand from which it had come. The blacks were often sent out to get bark, as they were excellent at the job. Give contextual explanation and translation from your sites ! Australian Indigenous family. Hurst wrote that fatal disease, introduced by licentious Europeans interfered with the natural source of supply and increase. During winter would hunt kangaroos, emus, possums and wombats, fish and other animals. Oral history tells us that by 1840 the natural food supplies were almost exhausted. Company Information It was their custom to seek his advice and assistance in almost every emergency that arose. After being prepared by their families, the boys were now ready to experience the transition from boyhood to manhood. Tra ditional hunting grounds were depleted, and sacred sites were destroyed. Since those times the flying-fox has changed his habits considerably much to the loss of orchardists and those that cultivate fruit. . On the following morning he would accompany the men to the weengarah, or meeting place where they assemble to discuss all such matters as they do not wish the women or uninitiated youths to take part in. The waters of the bay teemed with fish of every description, easily taken at all times. Kiripit (now Rawdon Vale) 26 miles west of Glouces- ter, was then a sheep station, managed by Robert Mackenzie, afterwards Sir Robert. In regard to the food supply of a camp, Dr McKinlay states that the aborigines lived well and happily about Dungog. He more than anyone, seemed to enjoy the joke best. This station was In the care of 4 or 5 unarmed men (convicts). Included in the WNAC agreements are health, education, employment and welfare benefits to flow from mining rights grants to Centennial Coal, Ashton Mine, and from Newcastle Coal. Captain Moffatt and I agreed to set off at 2 to-morrow, that nothing may be left undone on this lamentable occasion. When the fumigating of the men and novices has been completed the women go away to their camp, which is close by, and the men proceed to theirsthe married men joining their wives later on. Groups living near the Wonnarua include the Darkinjung and the Wirad Some sheets of bark are now laid on the ground just inside the boundary of the back part of the ring, or, in other words, on that side of it which is farthest from the pathway leading to the goonambang. Explore cultural objects, art and technology in the Australian Museum's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Collection. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954). News travelled slowly in those far-off days of 1838/39 from this then remote settlement, but as time went on most exaggerated reports began to filter in and reach the authorities in Newcastle and Sydney. We provide free guidance and resources to help you make more family history discoveries. Groups living near the Wonnarua include the Darkinjung and the Wirad. When I departed from Port Stephens in 1873 to go to Queensland the tribe had dwindled to about fifty members. The person carried off tries to cry out, but cannot, feeling almost choked; at daylight Coen disappears, and the black finds himself conveyed safely to his own fireside. Each child, at birth, was placed in a certain class or totem, and could only marry some person from an entirely different class or totem, their particular classification being indicated by its distinguishing name. Sometimes a blow on the head er e he fell would kill him, or if he were thrown down alive, those beneath would perform the final ceremony of dispatch. The weight and strength of the whole spear was regulated according to the purpose for which It was specifically intended, thus the heaviest of them were utilised only for spearing the big sea mullet which swarm into the harbor in countless millions at certain seasons of the year. When they would emerge from the ordeal eventually, they would be haggard, thin and worn. They would treat him hospitably, and talk with him about general matters of tribal interest. Where the line was rolled the skin of the operative was hardened by the application of hot ashes, and in time be- came calloused, smooth, and as hard as dried leather. This, I was told, was the end, but to me it now seems clear that it was the beginning of the ceremonies, being the time when the contingents have arrived, and before the final part when the boys who are initiated are taken from their mothers. Gringai land also includes the southern valleys of the Barrington Tops. This cleared space and its adjuncts is called kweealbang (fire place, or place of the fire). To dig his grave a spade was borrowed from us, and the excavation was made on the foreshores, a few yards above high- water mark. After the dances and games are over, one of the men sometimes sounds a goonandhakeea (excrement-eater) in the bush near the camp. These weapons were usually made of wood from the wild myrtle, hardened, like all their other wooden implements, by fire. They disappeared in a northerly direction but were pursued by a party of armed soldiers and assigned servants and overtaken some twenty miles away. Get XML access to reach the best products. Arriving at the foot of the hill the men threw down their weapons on the ground, and springing on to the cleared space, danced on the fire with their bare feet until it was extinguished. Everything was sleeping. This noise is made so that if the string of one of the bull-roarers should break - which sometimes happens - the women would not hear it falling on the ground. As soon as they are covered over, the women keep up a humming noise the same as they did on the morning the novices were taken away from the kackaroo. The fire-maker would squat himself on the ground, the soles of his feet on the larger length of wood to hold it firm, the thinner section between the palms of his hands, its tapered point on the. . If it chanced the long white worms commonly found in bush animals, these would be swallowed with with rare gusto as the greatest delicacy of all. A few days later an Invitation [was extended] to me to witness the great finishing ceremony. All along, one side of this top rail, reaching from it to the ground, bark and bushes are. The other method of securing fish was by spearing them. Sir I feel called on, and do myself the honor, to state to you for the informa- tion of His Excellency the Governor, that there are now residing on the Manning River upwards of 400 persons without protection or instruction of any kind, governed solely by lynch law. This nomadic minstrel was a most important individual, posturing, gesticulating and leaping about the fitful flames of the camp fire he would sing, over and over again, his latest melody, which usually had to do with some well known incident. Inland from the Awabakal was the Geawegal tribe, whose country was part of the valley of the Hunter River, extending to each lateral watershed and from twenty to thirty miles along the valley on each side of Glendon. She then passed the crossed ends of the cords rapidly to and fro between her closed lips until the blood, drawn by the friction dropped freely into the water, discolouring it to a crimson fluid. Never once In all my life at Carrington did I ever see a [child] slapped or chastised, and the younger fry could be mischievous and very trying on occasions. My fathers name was called first, followed by quite a number of others, when suddenly, on a certain name being mentioned, the bearers of the body lurched forward as though the corpse had moved. When the men are approaching each tree they throw pieces of stick at it, and dance round it on the clear space referred to, rubbing their hands upon the tree and telling the boys to take particular notice of the marks upon it. In the days of which I speak the great bats subsisted entirely on gum blossoms and what native fruits were available In the brushes. WNAC focuses on nurturing the history and culture of the Wonnarua Nation, improving the wellbeing of its members and managing investments to sustain the . The juvenile males of this (the Dungog) tribe were, from the age of about twelve to eighteen, allowed to accompany their parents and friends in hunting excursions, and assisted in the incidental fagging necessary about the camps. The whites, themselves, being oppressed with scarcity and dearth of provisions, were forced to withdraw that countenance and support they had formerly afforded to the blacks, and that was indeed the cause of all the mischief that occurred some little time since. Mathews, R.H. 1897. As my instructions from the Governor were very strict with regard to prosecuting those whether bond or free who detained any of the black women contrary to their wish or that of their friends. The main camp of the natives who were present at the ceremonies was pitched in an open forest, on some gently sloping ground a few chains easterly from the left bank of a small watercourse, a tributary of the Allyn River, within Portion No. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Tue 9 May 1922 Page 3 CONFLICTS WITH THE NATIVES. Find your family in the world's largest shared family tree. Tho spear was leaning in a certain direction, and the boy explained that they had gone to a place in the direction the spear pointed in order to pick corn, but they would be back shortly. Thus Fanny would always have success at fishing because of the peculiar lure in her fingers. Charms were worn round the neck and consisted of shells, seeds, pieces of quartz, etc. I was in company with my old friend the late John Hopson on the tableland when he found a stone axe-heart there. 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